How Important are NJ Attorney Reviews?

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The time you invest encouraging client reviews is the best investment you can make in your firm.  Prospective clients will look online for referrals and reviews before they ever pick up a phone. When they search for your firm, these are the types of reviews you want them to see:

 

The knowledge and expertise of George and his team are extraordinary.– P.S.

 

Excellent team of people ! Always get right back to you. George has a way of making you feel better in very difficult situations. He is a gem. The staff is also very effective at what they do. I highly recommend them.  –S.C.

 

Best lawyers in the area. Hard working, attentive, very knowledgeable, ethical. You can’t do better.–A.G.

 

I have sent many people to George to help them with foreclosures and bankruptcies. He has always delivered and went out of his way to make sure they were satisfied.  I highly recommend him and his firm. –P.A.

 

Every business must inevitably endure negative reviews.  It is a challenge to maintain a positive online review presence because leaving a negative review is a much more motivated process than leaving a positive review. A positive review, while it reinforces the client’s good experience, is not at the top of anyone’s to-do list. Moving clients to share their positive experiences can make a key difference in your online marketing. How do you go about tactfully asking for a review without turning the client off?

 

1. Ask in person: At the end of a service, it is an important step to ask how the client felt about your work. This serves two purposes: you can learn the client’s feelings about how you did, and you get one last chance to uncover any unmet needs. While you may hesitate to ask because of the fear of an unhappy response, it is important to move past your own discomfort. It helps to keep it light-hearted; something like: “You’re the boss, how did I do?” brings the client’s guard down. Once you know how they feel, let them know that you would appreciate if they would leave their comments online. Let them know that you will be sending a survey or link so they know to look for it. If the client has already shared their thoughts with you they will be more ready to craft their response once they receive your review request.

 

2. Send a digital message: Choose whatever method the client previously preferred to communicate with you (email, text message, or social media message) but do not overload them with reminders. Send your first message within the first week after your business is concluded. Send a second reminder the following week. Include links to your survey or review locations. Don’t use a form email.  Personalize your message for the client. They will appreciate the time you spent to write to them and feel better about spending their time writing a review for you.

 

3. Send a physical reminder: A letter in the mail goes a long way. It may seem old-fashioned, but a letter asking for a few comments with a stamped return envelope has a good chance of being answered. Bonus points if you include an actual handwritten note.

 

4. Keep it short: If you choose to use a tool like surveymonkey, keep your surveys short — no more than 1-3 questions with a comment area should suffice. Very few people are likely to fill out a long survey or read long emails seeking reviews.

 

5. Offer incentives: It is common practice to offer incentives for referrals. Why not offer an incentive for returning a review? Advertise that reviews will be randomly chosen to win a gift card or a discount on future firm services.

 

If your positive reviews far outnumber the negative reviews, prospective clients will determine the negative reviews to be aberrant. This is a very effective way to build a strong online presence while simultaneously increasing your client base.